Efficient and effective management of shared resources, such as office rooms, conference rooms, audiovisual equipment, and personnel resources is a complex logistic problem, plagued by several issues, including but not limited to cancellations, double bookings, insufficient resources, over-utilization of certain spaces and technologies, and under-utilization of other spaces and equipment. Dynamic booking, changes to existing reservations, and cancellations are not possible without involving additional personnel or time to search for available conference rooms, or appropriate equipment, or other resources like drink and food services.
Beacons are small, battery-friendly devices that send out low-voltage signals, such as Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE), for a programmable distance between about a few cm to 40-50 m. In addition, some smartphones can act as beacons. The frequency of sending the signal can also be programmable; for example, a signal can be sent every 100-400 milliseconds. Beacons can be placed strategically indoors or outdoors to perform many actions. There is a need to integrate the beacon technology and other indoor positioning systems for better management of shared resources and address dynamic changes to the availability or non-availability of resources based on data from user-devices and beacons.